Pollple Rain (search terms prince purple rain impossible)

sentimental attachment to "the beautiful ones"

In order of preference:

Beautiful Ones
I Would Die 4 U
Baby I'm A Star
Let's Go Crazy
Computer Blue
Take Me With U
Darling Nikki
When Doves Cry
Purple Rain

Today, feels like "I Would Die 4 U".

Beautiful Ones

i would die 4 u was the first song that came to mind, surprisingly

the beautiful ones always smash the picture

good pole

yes lisa

IWD4U

hate to be boring, but "when doves cry" still amazes me

Doves

"Purple Rain" for me. I know it's corny and sentimental but damn, it's A+. Something about the guitar and the strings, that refrain...Im always on the verge of tears when I hear it.

i love them all. so tough.

The ones I really love, in rank order, are:

When Doves Cry
Let's Go Crazy
Take Me With U

nothing gives me chills like the let's go crazy solo tho

torn between Computer Blue or Take Me With U

one more vote for Beautiful Ones

i would die 4 u, let's go crazy, and when doves cry are definitely my top 3, but my number 1 basically depends on the day

If the album had the 12" version of "Let's Go Crazy" it'd be an easier choice.

beautiful ones vs purple rain

beautiful ones.

sentimental attachment to "darling nikki"

Sike! Well, no, yes actually, but my actual vote is for Beautiful Ones. Would be so awesome to see this take it. Looks like there are a lot of votes.

I might actually cast what would probably be the single vote for "Computer Blue," for a couple of reasons. First, I like its context in the movie, in which it's based on a melodic fragment he hears his father playing at the piano. Second, it's got some of the best, most intricate guitar work on the whole record. Third, the actual staging/performance in the movie is freakin' fantastic.

"Doves" is untouchable for me, but I'm tired of voting for it whenever it comes up in a poll. So I'm gonna go with "Nikki" -- because it's sexy, funny, and I love that monster riff.

"I Would Die 4 U" is one of my all-time favorite songs

"When Doves Cry" is one of my go-to greatest songs ever written when people ask.

lately it's been "I Would Die 4 U" for me. the instrumentation, the simple chorus....

really I don't dislike any of the tracks. great album, awful movie.

There's really no wrong answer here -- every song is the best song on someone else's album.
Voting "Beautiful Ones" because it makes me feel ~*emotions*~ but I love every single goddamned song on this album.

This may be as good a time as any to recall how I first saw Purple Rain -- I was 9 and my friend's dad was a doctor, so they had a pool and a projector tv. They had The Joy of Sex on their bookshelves and a breadmaker. (This was 1985, NO ONE had a breadmaker). My friend and I used to sit in her basement and watch Purple Rain over and over and over again. VCRs were pretty new, and owning a movie on tape was a huge deal -- I had never seen such a thing. It was also the first time I saw boobs in a movie. The end.

I went with "Darling Nikki" for the creepy space around the drums. Also because it actually got airplay on the Chicago AM Top 40 station, uncensored and everything.

over the week and a bit i spent working at our fest in NY last september, this was the only CD in the rental car - and it was like
some supportive crutch during the insanity every time i got in the car. Thank you mr prince.

Probably go for I Would Die 4 U

It's When Doves Cry

Would have to pick "Take Me With U" - the 1-2 punch to open this album is incredible

Haven't seen the movie in years but I was so in love with Appolonia

Take Me With U is p great actually...

Will sit down and watch this movie whenever it's on, provided that someone else doesn't strongarm control of the television...

There's something about the I Would Die 4 U main melody that is melancholy in spite of the upbeat rhythm that I think is pretty genius.

...maybe the music theory guys can affirm that the chords are played a little behind the beat which may lend to that effect?

I always thought it was the synth arpeggio bassline descending and rising in oblique motion with the melody — plus that synth glissando that happens after the first "you" in the chorus just makes it seem so alien and spacey.

Yeah, it's endlessly swirling in on itself. Easily my favorite of the PR singles.

I love the transition between IWD4U and BIAS

It is 'When Doves Cry'...heard it on the radio a couple of week's ago and it still made me feel like I did the first time I heard it(like WTF...this guy is a fuckin genius)it's funny thinking about this nearly 30 years after it came out and probably 20 years since I last listened to it but thinking about it doesn't get me massively excited not like 1999 which I still think of as P being at the height of his talents...maybe it needs a couple more years to mature...mind you the title track is still a turgid dirge and the worst thing on here...

"Darling Nikki". Just ahead of "Take Me With You".

yeah when doves cry wins this for me

never liked purple rain, the title track, even as a 10 year old it felt a bit too cheesy

What's the best track on "Purple Rain"?

Apparently it was the quotes in the thread title that made finding for it a bit difficult. Searching for ILM threads with just the word "purple" in the title worked, though.

So many great songs. Surprised by all the love for "Beautiful Ones," though it does bring the drama. I'm voting Doves, but you have to put in a word for the fantastic riff that anchors "Computer Blue."

I always thought it was the synth arpeggio bassline descending and rising in oblique motion with the melody — plus that synth glissando that happens after the first "you" in the chorus just makes it seem so alien and spacey.

― corey, Monday, 25 April 2011 22:03 (Yesterday) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink
Yeah, it's endlessly swirling in on itself. Easily my favorite of the PR singles.

― scissorlocks and the three bears (Eric H.), Tuesday, 26 April 2011 00:36 (17 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

Both posts totally OTM re: 'I Would Die 4 U'.

as a kid, my favorite of the singles was "I Would Die 4 U"

when I heard the album, I immediately gravitated towards "The Beautiful Ones" and it remains one of my favorite Prince songs to this day

so hard. all the IWD4U talk is convincing, so i think it's down to that and purple rain for me (vegemitegrrrl OTM about that one).

hmmmm ok purple rain for today.

I wish the album would've included the 10 minute extended mix of "I Would Die 4 U" that appears on the single, it's a thing of beauty. Still, even the shorter version is obviously the best tune on PR, such an unstoppable groove.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCFiKl7iUFY

lol just came into post that Tuomas...

the beautiful ones

w/when doves cry in a close second place.

really really hate baby im a star.

totally impossible, but...

when i just want to toss this on and get that live prince funk vibe, i'll go for 'baby i'm a star'. on the other hand, 'when doves cry' has it all.

that live awkward prince funk vibe

you mean that song in particular, or prince in general? either way...wtf.

awkward + prince = does not compute

must be something in the water he drank

A+

I see what you did there :D

i guess what i mean is that awkward live prince funk vibe. like "it's gonna be a beautiful night." "baby im a star" is great.

What the heck is awkward about "Beautiful Night"? It has a great groove and some fun live action.

explain yrself, 69!

(she says, reaching for her pitchfork)

"When Doves Cry" is perfect and still sounds awesome.

I think "Purplr Rain" is my least favorite.

Purple Rain hits my top 3 just for that outro guitar solo intermingled with the falsetto melodies at the end alone....

I haven't posted here yet because doing so would blow my brain. I can say that "Baby I'm a Star" is my least favorite song, and it's not even a bad one.

i'm curious whether people prefer sprawling funk Prince (ie the 8-9 minute jams on 1999) versus good-ol' pop Prince (Purple Rain, Around the World in a Day)

I think every song is an 8.5 or better on this.

Don't know if the categories are that neat, Neanderthal!

besides, he wrote better good ol' pop than what's on ATWIAD.

well it's hard to really nail him down as he really never stuck to one style for an album or more. I am a big fan of ATWIAD though, even though I realize others aren't.

i just find it interesting that he sort of left the musical direction he had on 1999 and never completely revisited it. though he continued to make quality music for sure.

still pissed at him for making Lovesexy one track though.

To my ears he sold those extended dance grooves to proteges (The Time, Sheila E, Vanity 6), which purged his system of a style he'd mastered as he moved on to other things.

that's true

That's the beauty of 1999...it has pop Prince...weird prince...funk Prince...overblown Prince...rock Prince...loverman Prince...the perfect storm...

it was my first Prince album, and I still love it to death.

i feel that way about dirty mind through purple rain, really.

I voted "The Beautiful Ones", which as I probably have written elsewhere on ILM, I find impossible to listen to with anyone else present: I cannot bear that kind of intimacy otherwise.

x post...Mine too...i still remember the shock and awe of listening to it for the first time...it blew my mind...I had to put in on again straight away but not before doing a quick fast forward through it cos i could wait that long to hear some of those grooves...Something In The Water still slays me...

my emotionally devastating Prince mix would definitely include "The Beautiful Ones", "Condition of the Heart", "Sometimes It Snows in April" and "The Ladder"

not sure what else... possibly "Free" and his cover of "One of Us"

xxxpost it's probably my second favorite, though I have difficulty divorcing it from the cheesy accompanying scene in the movie where he's screaming to Apollonia. which is the best part of the song.

Prince's shrieks can't even really be replicated, they're so shrill.

I'd also include "Joy in Repetition," "Strange Relationship," and "Do Me, Baby" in the strange-intimate Prince file.

I've loved Purple Rain for a long time, but it got worse after I saw him live for the first time - he closed with it and I was overwhelmed this embarrassing "No! You can't leave!" feeling that made me just want to weep uncontrollably and I get that now everytime I hear it, especially with the outro. Such a girl, lol

and "i love u in me" (which is weirdly affecting with its minimalism and crazy vocal harmonies)

xpost in the funk department, "Lady Cab Drivers" beats all

For the strange/intimate Prince file, "If I Was Your Girlfriend" too? By the end of it I am always of out of breath & looking around to make sure no one is watching.

The only bit of Purple Rain I like is the very end with the strings playing and that tambourine...it feels like the end of a gig...

"I Wish U Heaven" makes my all-time Prince list too....

more emotional sledgehammer Prince: "I Can't Make You Love Me"

OMG. I had no idea he did a version of that, so I pulled it up just now -- this is the first non-nauseating version of that song I've ever heard. always felt it was a great song, but I hated the cheesy adult contemp version of the Raitt version, and George Michael's flat version.

There's really no wrong answer here -- every song is the best song on someone else's album.

My only possible vote. Had "Computer Blue" in my head for a couple of days recently.

the instrumental break in that song is fantabulous

Neanderthal: ICMYLM is on Emancipation, which if you don't have it you should get right away as it very nearly justifies having 3 discs due to the inclusion of covers like this.

Moreover, you can get a used copy for $1 anywhere.

Oh totally forgot about: "The Holy River," "Let's Make a Baby," and "My Computer."

good to know -- i'd always avoided that one cuz 3 discs is a lot even for me, but sounds like I'm missing out on some good stuff

i still haven't gotten around to making my best-of-emancipation single lp (or ep?)

It's so long that you can own it for years, program a disc on random, and suddenly go, "Holy shit! 'Somebody's Somebody' is awesome! How'd I miss it?"

i know it was a big single and all but "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World" was one of my favorite 90's ballads of his.

hmm I know the local indie store has a copy of it used....will have to swing by.

It's so long that you can own it for years, program a disc on random, and suddenly go, "Holy shit! 'Somebody's Somebody' is awesome! How'd I miss it?"

haha completely OTM; I was just looking at the tracklist and realized that I'd forgotten several of the songs on disc 2, something I will be correcting tonight

if we're getting into favorite prince songs i would like to clearly say "Horny Toad"

also you are OTM re: "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World", I think The Gold Experience in general is an underrated album ("P Control"! "Shh"! "Shy"! "I Hate U"! "Billy Jack Bitch"!)

^agree 100% percent

also that weird cartoon cover npg album he pretended not to be on is FUCKING AMAZING

His best nineties album imo.

re TGE.

Exodus, thats the name i couldnt remember. prince funk devotees should really really dig that one up.

also underrated: Come

I would adore that album for the title track alone but "Letitgo", "Pheremone", "Loose" and "Papa" are also next-level for me

I remember loving Letitgo when I first heard it on the radio as a kid, still holds up nicely today

Agreed, I like "Space" alot too on Come. But be careful to turn it down at work before "Orgasm" comes on!

I think Dan and I called that one his NIN album a couple of times. Sorta true.

OTM

I am listening to the 10 min version of IWD4U and I am like :OOOOOOOOOOO

If you like that one, I'd recommend gettting this single, which has the extended versions of both "I Would Die 4 U" and "Erotic City":

http://www.discogs.com/Prince-Erotic-City/master/16218

Too bad neither of them is on the album... If Prince would've dropped "Purple Rain" and "Computer Blues" from it and replaced them with these two tunes, PR would've been much better.

The extended 12" remix of "Let's Go Crazy" is worth checking out too, even though it's not as essential as "IWD4U".

Not actually much a fan of the percussion breakdowny extended IWD4U. So don't go dropping "Computer Blues" on its account imo.

so Tuomas, you are suggesting that Prince should have dropped "Purple Rain" from Purple Rain....

Yeah, it's the worst song on it.

;_;

more acts should be courageous enough to drop the title track from their album/movie soundtrack

It's a somewhat bland and pompous three-chord ballad, nothing special about it. Prince himself has recorded at least 10 ballads better than "Purple Rain".

your ability to miss a point is astounding

it would be shockingly stupid to leave the song "Purple Rain" off of Purple Rain, given not only its central role in the movie but also that it's THE GODDAMNED TITLE TRACK

more acts should be courageous enough to drop the title track from their album/movie soundtrack

If Prince would've dropped it before recording, no one would even know the album would've had a "title track". There's plenty of albums that aren't named after any track on them.

So long, 'Ziggy Stardust', 'Footloose', 'Stayin Alive'...

There's no track called "Parade" on Parade either.

Ah, I used to know a Nikki when this album came out. How she loved that song. OK, tolerated it then.

(xpost yeah, there is)

"Stayin' alive" ?

xxpost -- You're Finnish, not Norwegian.

So long, 'Ziggy Stardust', 'Footloose', 'Stayin Alive'...

Isn't the spundtrack and the movie called "Saturday Night Fever", not "Stayin' Alive"?

There is a movie "Stayin' Alive", it was the SNF follow-up.

The movie was called "Under the Cherry Moon" (and there is a song on there with that title), plus the first track is called "Christopher Tracy's Parade".

Exactly.

No, it's called "Staying Alive", with a "g".

ok, then, Approximately.

Anyway, nothing would've stopped Prince naming one of the other, better songs "Purple Rain", if he was so desperate to have a title track. My point is just that removing the ballad in the end and replacing with "Erotic City" (or some other, better ballad) would've improved the album.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5l75skRMlXk

Oh well, give my regards to Broad street.

He should have retitled Purple Rain "Sugar Walls."

Tuomas has incensed to the point where I want to change my vote out of spite

fu "Purple Rain" is awesome

Next up, how the album "Hard days night" might have been improved by...

Eh? My point isn't that the title tracks of every album are bad, just that in this case it's the worst song on this specific album.

purple rain is awesome, when doves cry -> purple rain may be my most favorite stretch of songs ever

you're just confused because in finland this was called hey, we're getting funky with prince!

xp

I blew it with the Staying Alive thing, sorry lol

No, Tuomas is right. PR is the worst song on the album.

The strings in the outro are pretty great, tho. Just takes 7 boring minutes to get there.

wtf

I'm not a big fan of the song but can't help thinking the album would be dented without it

I am also, for the record, doing anything that would take away the title "best b-side ever" away from "Erotic City."

Only one of these songs features the comedy vocal stylings of Apollonia, and that song is not "Purple Rain", ergo "Purple Rain" can't be the worst song on the album.

If you mean, "her vocal is a sty," then sure.

Good thing Prince had the foresight to distract from A's vocal performance with some of the best songwriting on the album, then.

Eh? My point isn't that the title tracks of every album are bad, just that in this case it's the worst song on this specific album.

― Tuomas, Wednesday, 27 April 2011 13:31 (21 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

Mine neither, more that the title song of the album and the film tends to get a free pass.

okay nothing has depressed me more today than listening to Mariah Carey and Dru Hill fundamentally misunderstand "The Beautiful Ones"

In which case, seek out Misty Dixon's version.

Abstaining from poll, due to the lack of "any and all" option

Possibly my favorite "pop" album ever, even if it's not my favorite album from Minneapolis in 1984

The Dump cover is great, though!

favorite single A/B sides has to be "let's pretend we're married" / "Irresistible Bitch"

We should do a thread on best/worst cover versions of songs from this album, based on DJP's posts.

I wish Garth Brooks had covered "Baby, I'm A Star"

Prince's award show performance of that one in early 1985 (Grammys I think?) = holy shit that was great.

Hey, and his minions haven't taken down this clip of it yet!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6KpgiNR1nA

I think there's an agreement now re: stuff pre-1995 on Youtube

when my prince tribute band (purple veins) put up some videos the other day, the audio got taken down very quickly by the purple legal team. but covers are fair game afaik, so we were able to get it put back up right away. and then the next day i saw this: http://www.avclub.com/articles/prince-wants-to-make-covering-songs-illegalspecifi,54989/

oh prince, you crazy

i could watch that all day

holy shit re that grammys performance

after a while it started reminding me of SNL's what's up with that skit

part of why that skit is awesome

holy shit this performance

I remember doing that stutter step dance for weeks after seeing this

If I remember right I still hadn't gotten the album at that point (I mean, the singles were everywhere on the radio, I didn't need to! See also: Thriller) so this was a 'new' song to me and Jesus H.

wait, was his bouncer/bodyguard Santa

It was after Christmas, dude has to make rent.

it's confirmed, heaven is a prince concert

Heaven is being one of Prince's high heels.

same bodyguard who prince rode to the stage here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHaFj7gOWh4

isn't he the bouncer in purple rain too?

Yes Vanity, there is a Santa Claus

wait, was his bouncer/bodyguard Santa

That's Big Chick! I remember he had his own page in the "Purple Rain" tour program, which I still have two copies of in my attic. He died in 1990. A Google search shows a loving tribute to him from the president of, uh,Bodyguard Careers.

Man, Sheila E. in that video. Oh, the dreams my 15-year-old self had about her.

http://www.sheilae.com/

the dreams my 38-year-old self STILL has about her!

"Ministr-E"

Of course now Dan is imagining Sheila E. covering Twitch.

My favorite thing about the movie Purple Rain is the absurd disconnect between Prince's performances and the way they are received by the club audience during the "Darling Nikki" and "The Beautiful Ones" scenes. Like we're supposed to believe that he was being too over-the-top or self-indulgent and completely alienated the audience, when in fact those two performances are both jaw-droppingly awesome and any real audience would be loving it.

Also, truly enjoy the directorial choice of ending the film with a guitar money shot.

My favorite thing about the movie Purple Rain is the absurd disconnect between Prince's performances and the way they are received by the club audience during the "Darling Nikki" and "The Beautiful Ones" scenes. Like we're supposed to believe that he was being too over-the-top or self-indulgent and completely alienated the audience, when in fact those two performances are both jaw-droppingly awesome and any real audience would be loving it.

So OTM

Though "If you want to be a superstar you need a power ballad" is a valid moral for a music movie

Surprised he let Wendy and Lisa's carping survive the final cut.

. . . even though club favorites The Time have no such thing in the movie. There are huge holes in this script!

What script?

Like we're supposed to believe that he was being too over-the-top or self-indulgent and completely alienated the audience, when in fact those two performances are both jaw-droppingly awesome and any real audience would be loving it.

I have seen many many incredible bands practically ignored by crowds in small venues so

Was Prince in any of them?

several

Prince blah blah drummer blah blah Gay Dad

Funny, I was watching the Blues Brothers on f/v lastnight, and thinking "there's no way this *whole* audience would be *this* hysterical over a version of "Everybody needs.."

Call me wrong....

. . . even though club favorites The Time have no such thing in the movie. There are huge holes in this script!

'cause they're just giving the people what they want on a surface level...prince really feels it, maaaan!

I'm assuming the story is autobiographical, in that prince was prolly doing freaky shit at local venues early in his career and raised a bunch of eyebrows and/or was ignored by ppl who were just out for drinks and to be seen/scene

whether it's due to evolving as a performer or the patina of fame, things change for artists, but they are often not wholly embraced or recognized, especially locally

so there was some ring of truth for me in those scenes where ppl are like pfft whatev the kid w/ yr excessive stage humping

He was notoriously booed and pelted with debris when he opened for the Rolling Stones in 1981.

because he wouldn't play a power ballad!

I guess you could argue there's some metaphorical weight to the struggles of a guy who plays at one club in minnesota and that club only, who finally achieves stardom (at the club) and gets to spooge on the audience with his hose guitar when he plays a power ballad based on a chord progression made by bandmates. But sorry, it's fucking hilarious that the audience is like "ugh, this beautiful ones is straight up GARBAGE, fire that Minnesota club act immediately"

i really think my understanding of purple rain (the album/movie, not nec. the song) is somewhat (maybe totally) distorted by the fact that i was 9-10 years old when it came out and i and had just been told what sex was/how it was done

it's kind of amazing there isn't a plot element where some a&r guy will give either prince or the time a contract, it's just "will prince win over this club of minnesotans" followed by a guitargasm

Though, logically, by Graffiti Bridge, each band has a club of their own on the same block

lol I was just about to bring that up

Yeah but then The Time went bankrupt and ended up playing out the credits in a Kevin Smith movie. RIP Morris Day. ;_;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9O3vC8tDj1M

If Prince could have made The Time out of actual robots, he would have

Though, logically, by Graffiti Bridge, each band has a club of their own on the same block

― da croupier, Wednesday, April 27, 2011 9:09 AM (3 minutes ago)

lol I was just about to bring that up

― I just like… I just have to say… (Starts crying) (DJP), Wednesday, April 27, 2011 9:10 AM

Very Starbucks, really.

I would pay infinity money for a robot that could do that Morris Day - Jerome Benton dance.

i wish i knew more about how prince fit in with the club scene of that time.

outside of first ave, i guess the other big independent rock bars would have been The Longhorn and Goofy's Upper Deck...possibly the Rifle Sport Gallery but not sure (oops just check that didn't open until 85)

but those places (longhorn and goofys) were more punk scene stuff so not sure if they would have been even friendly to prince...i wonder where the R&B scene played? i'm thinking like maybe what was left of VFW dancehalls?

if pete scholtes sees this, do you know pete?

this is reminding me that I need to get Graffiti Bridge

oh also by the way minneapolis crowds can pretty much cross their arms and nod through any crazy ass shit, like Costes drinking his own pee or whatever, much less prince

Gotta remember Prince was already signed to WB and off to LA when he was 17, he had some early groups but it's not like he was a Minnesota-stuck fellow for long

this is reminding me that I need to get Graffiti Bridge

seriously

don't get me wrong, I've heard the whole thing multiple times; I just don't have a playable copy

haha i meant the movie

yeah actually i just looked it up and first avenue wasn't even first avenue by time prince was signed, it was still uncle sam's

I've seen the movie multiple times, too! That second viewing wasn't nearly as good as the first one.

Definitely not as rewatchable as Purple Rain, but I feel like I should have a copy all the same

i sat down to watch "Cherry moon" one time, had to dash off after 5 mins to do something, never got further with it...

It looked quite instering, too...

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

seemed like it had been a little while since ILM had a good Prince thread...thanking u wanko

Under The Cherry Moon is all about everything but the story/plot

there is no way i could ever answer this.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

WHOA that was close

plus 10 votes for Take Me With U; that's awesome!

big innovations though are def IWD4U narrowly beating When Doves Cry, and Let's Go Crazy getting 3 votes obv

Voted IWD4U cos recently a friend was playing it and talking about how influential it was on Nine Inch Nails.

dammit I worried Baby I'm A Star could get a goose egg, retroactively voting for that

I had no clue there was so much love for the winner

i had no idea there was so little love for let's go crazy

The 12 inch/movie version of LGC is better

"I Would Die 4 U" really might be one of my top 10 songs of all time, so this result is really heartwarming 2 me

I love Let's Go Crazy, but it's just a warmup for the awesomeness to come.

I do think Baby, I'm a Star mostly got screwed due to reality format conventions, I.e., many people might have considered it better than songs that got votes, but nobody thought it was the best.

Great results tho IMO

Yay, I'm not the only one who loves Purple Rain!

Take that Tuomas :)

Hating "Purple Rain" = hating life

take me away

BWAAIRR

^ approximation of that last guitar rip

I'm shocked -- this was my least favorite of the five singles.

Thanks to Dan's mentions upthread, I scored a used copy of Emancipation today. Got it home to find that the reason it was so cheap is it's missing Disc 1 (noted on the sticker which I failed to read properly) ;_; But still yay! La-La Means I Love You!! Holy shitballs, so great

wait til you get to "Let's Have a Baby."

I kind of love "Sleep Around" too...has a cool big band vibe

Purple Rain love aside though, The Beautiful Ones really does kill. My 2nd favorite, no question.

Surprised by all the Take Me With U love. I mean, it's cute and all but I always found it semi-skippable

That's because it's totally semi-skippable.

!

truthbombs, get em here

i don't care, pretty baby

just poll me with you

Very pleased with the results. I Would Die 4 U is my second favourite song of his just behind Controversy.

Really glad to see Take Me With U do so well, it's probably my second favorite on the album.

Shame Baby I'm a Star didn't get any votes, it's a really good song but for me it suffers a little as it's stuck inbtween two incredible songs so it gets a little lost.

I'm really surprised Computer Blue got 4 votes. Good tune, but it's mostly serviceable, not something I'd consider the peak of the album.

I Would Die 4 U is esentially *live* isn't it on the album? along with Baby..? i'm sure there've been lengthy discussions on ILM about this but i can't recall the deets. they were recorded in 83 at a warm up show or same?

yeah, the basic tracks for "I Would Die 4 U," "Baby" and the title track were recorded live at First Avenue, although obv there's a lot of studio stuff in there too.

Revive. Just because the last two minutes of "The Beautiful Ones" just ripped me to shreds.

always, every time

otm

I may not know where I'm going, baby
I may not know what I need
But one thing, one thing's for certain
I know what I want
And it's to please you baby

I'm not even a woman and I want to fuck Prince after hearing that.

Oh I had fun writing this up, let me tell ya

http://thequietus.com/articles/15259-prince-purple-rain-anniversary-review

i had fun (and a few tears) reading it ..

Wow, ya just nailed it - great job. I, too, had the poster front & fucking center of my bedroom wall @ age 14. Can't express what good job you did - hoping ya make that a library display on the year 84 with Purple Rain as a huge part!

Hahah thanks very kindly!

Nice write-up, Ned. I had that poster on my wall, too.

Fun fact: "When Doves Cry" was released 30 years ago today.

I just finished listening to the 12" extensions of "God" and "17 Days". Cannot really articulate my feelings atm. <3 <3 <3

Bumping since today is the actual 30th anniversary. Lotsa pieces floating around today! (And as posted upthread a bit, mine ran in May: http://thequietus.com/articles/15259-prince-purple-rain-anniversary-review )

never knew that prince's pops wrote the non sequitur instrumental section of 'the beautiful ones'! http://blog.thecurrent.org/2014/06/bobby-z-shares-his-purple-rain-memories-on-the-albums-30th-anniversary

this record is holy to me and I have no time for any web stuff but ilx today so pls post more linx!

Controversial rankings I may or may not have had some hand in: http://1041jackfm.cbslocal.com/2014/06/25/purple-rains-tracks-ranked-from-worst-to-best/

What will arrive first, new D'Angelo album or expanded Purple Rain remaster?

<3 to Eric H for that list

Prince's engineer Susan Rogers on recording Purple Rain.

Prince would come downstairs and usually have a lyric sheet written in long hand. And he would tape it up on a stand in front of the drums. I'd hit record and he would play the entire drum track from beginning to end without a click with the song in his head.

I love her

did anyone talk to wendy and lisa for any pieces yesterday?

Wendy.

Yes Lisa.

is the water warm enough?

watch out wendy's comin

that susan rogers article is awesome

Eric H, I was reading a Pitchfork review that said if you only own one XTC album, it should be Chips From The Chocolate Fireball. I suppose as a writer there's a natural tendency to go for some sort of shock value, as that's the only rationale that allows for Purple Rain to be ranked below even Another Lonely Christmas.
Absurd.

Eric H, I was reading a Pitchfork review that said if you only own one XTC album, it should be Chips From The Chocolate Fireball.

idg what's so absurd about this (says huge XTC fan)

It was admittedly a little bit rhetorical, but for the life of me, I have never felt anything remotely close to moved by that song. It's the only less than stellar track on the entire album.

as a Bob Seger homage it's not bad but it is really repetitive, I'm usually tired of it by the end

Another Lonely Christmas is a v funny song otoh

Fair enough. As a single I think it's good, as a nearly 9 minute closing song I think it's brilliant.

Was 4 the Tears in Your Eyes a PR B-side? So amazing, it's like Prince doing a Cure song

I have never felt anything remotely close to moved by that song.

We're so good at not being moved by things.

xp I wish that had been the B-side to "Rain" instead of "God."

oh wow "Purple Rain" has definitely made me feel many types of ways

the title track was only the 6th-highest song from Purple Rain on the ilx Prince tracks poll, so it's not that strange to suggest it's one of the album's lesser lights (I like it, but i also like "Another Lonely Christmas" more, that's a great fucking song).

Never was a huge fan of the title song myself.

I've been to several weddings where the title track was the last song of the night which is both cheesy and amazing.

the title track was only the 6th-highest song from Purple Rain on the ilx Prince tracks poll

And people were wrong for that. Only tracks I'd put above it are "Darling Nikki", maybe "When Doves Cry", and maaaaaaaybe "The Beautiful Ones"

The Reverend is wrong for that.

the idea that Eric has ever listened to XTC are made me lol

both Prince and XTC's "God" are meh.

Was 4 the Tears in Your Eyes a PR B-side? So amazing,

that was recorded for -- and specifically written for, if i'm not mistaken -- the we are the world album.

Yeah, the WATW LP version is very much superior to the live version he threw on the Hits/B-Sides release.

Oh really? Hm. Never on cd, I assume?

shame that there was never a live album of the PR album

the live versions of the title song from that era are always better than the album version.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-O-LsD7czo&feature=youtu.be&t=2885

Damn, I love Baby I'm a Star

shame that there was never a live album of the PR album

the bulk of "purple rain" /is/ a live album, albeit one sweetened with a lot of studio overdubbing

that was recorded for -- and specifically written for, if i'm not mistaken -- the we are the world album.

really? i had always read that it was an outtake.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/We_Are_the_World_%28album%29

(I don't know why I remembered this being a double LP, and there's some pretty random-ass filler on there.)

the bulk of "purple rain" /is/ a live album, albeit one sweetened with a lot of studio overdubbing

i know that. its not a live album.

'I Would Die 4 U'

That vocal performance at the end of 'The Beautiful Ones' = goosebumps.

Feel like we should Poll Prince's best screeches ("The Beautiful Ones," "Darling Nikki," "Gett Off") at some point.

Happy 40th. The Quietus is resharing my 30th anniversary piece so once again:

https://thequietus.com/opinion-and-essays/anniversary/prince-purple-rain-review-anniversary/